USA Online Poker
Online poker in America is at an all-time high when it comes to participation, but many players are still unaware of the laws in the country. Lawmakers have been working over the past several years on defining the online gambling laws in relation to online poker, but as of yet there has been no advancement of these clarifications. One law that did go into effect this June is the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act. The UIGEA places the burden on financial institutions to deny transactions to and from what they consider illegal online gambling sites. Online poker, however, was not specifically addressed in the UIGEA and no one has ever been brought up on illegal online poker charges.
A couple of online poker sites that still accept US players are Full Tilt Poker and PokerStars. The two sites compete for players from around the country, and both promote themselves as non-gambling sites, in fact, they believe poker is a game of skill, along with about five million other poker players.
Full Tilt poker is endorsed by many of the top poker players in the world, and PokerStars also has a group of professionals that play daily on their site. Credit card processing has become a challenge, and these two sites offer US players a wide variety of other avenues to deposit and collect their poker funds.
UK Online Poker
The online poker industry in the UK is largely different than in the US, thanks to laws that clearly state the legality of online gambling and online poker. Unlike in the USA, residents in the UK are free to choose from a wide variety of sites that are regulated by the government. These sites pay taxes on the money that is earned, and in return, the UK government regulates heavily to ensure a fair game for customers and proper protections for problem gamblers.
The lack of corruption has led to some of the top online poker games in the world. The tournaments and cash games are both popular, and with gamblers understanding their money is safe, millions of dollars are in play at the tables on a daily basis.
The top online poker site in the UK is up for debate considering the amount of options available to players. Specific needs play a big part in which sites are more valuable to specific players, but on a whole there are several sites that are usually high on players' lists.
The aforementioned PokerStars and Full Tilt both rate high amongst players. William Hill, Ladbrokes, and PartyPoker are also trusted sites that do very well in the UK market. William Hill and Ladbrokes were located in the UK until they relocated to Gibraltar last year, although they both still accept UK players.






